A Profile of France

Marianne is a national emblem of France. She is present in many places in France and holds a place of honor in town halls and law courts. She symbolizes the "Triumph of the Republic", a bronze sculpture overlooking the Place de la Nation in Paris. Her profile stands out on the official seal of the country, is engraved on French euro coins, and appears on French postage stamps; it was also featured on the former French franc coins and banknotes.

The Académie française (French Academy) is a learned body founded in 1570, when King Charles IX granted the charter of an "academy of Music and Poetry" to the poet Antoine de Baïf and a musician named Gourville, who named it the Académie française. The Académie functioned informally until February 10, 1635, when Armand-Jean Cardinal Richelieu (minister of Louis XIII) formalised it into a national academy for the literati, and limited the number of its members. In anticipation of this most of the first members were named during 1634.

History
La Marseillaise is a song written and composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle on April 24, 1792. Its original name is Chant de marche de l'Armée du Rhin (Marching song of the Rhine Army). It became the rallying call of the French Revolution and was so-called because it was first sung on the streets by troops from Marseille upon their arrival in Paris.

La Marseillaise was rearranged by Hector Berlioz around 1830.

In 1917, after the collapse of the tsarist regim La Marseillaise became the national anthem of Russia, the Russian lyrics being very different from the French lyrics. It was soon replaced with The International by the Bolsheviks.

The départements (or departments) are administrative units of France, roughly analogous to British counties and now grouped into 22 metropolitan and four overseas régions. They are subdivided into 342 arrondissements.

Administrative role
Each département is administered by a Conseil Général elected for six years, and by a préfet appointed by the French government and assisted by one or more sous-préfets based in district centres outside the departmental capital. An administrative reform in 1982 transferred some of the préfet's powers to the president of the Conseil Général.

The Constitution
A popular referendum approved the constitution of the Fifth Republic in 1958, greatly strengthening the authority of the presidency and the executive in relation to Parliament.

The executive branch
France has an original system with an executive headed by two officials: the President and the Prime Minister.

The President of the Republic

Mona Lisa (also known as the Monna Lisa; Italian La Gioconda; French La Joconde), is a painting by Leonardo da Vinci showing a woman with an introspective expression-perhaps smiling would be the wrong word. It is the most famous painting in the world, going so far as to be iconic of painting, art, and even visual images in general. No other work of art is so romanticized, celebrated, or reproduced. It was accomplished between 1503 and 1506. Today it hangs in the Louvre in Paris and is the museum's star attraction.

The Painting